Back In Time
by Another Writer Who Loves
Summary: A hunt gone wrong sends Sam from 2019 back in time to 2005 when the Winchester family had gotten together again after obtaining the Colt from the vampires.
1. Chapter 1

They're not entirely sure what to make of the stranger in front of them.

He claims to be Sam, Sam from the future that had been accidentally sent here during a hunt when they were after a witch.

A Sam from the future that apparently still hunted, their Sam looked stricken and hadn't talked that much after that revelation, sitting on the edge of the bed and staring at the ground.

"Alright, how many years into the future are we talking about here?" John asked, taking a deep breath. The future Sam was staring at the wall, unable to really look at John after realizing where he was.

"Almost fourteen years." future Sam told them, rubbing the back of his neck. "Feels like a lifetime though."

Dean hadn't looked away from him for a single moment, taking every piece in. If possible, it almost seemed like he had gotten taller, he had gotten a lot broader that's for sure. A lot more muscular too, it was hidden by his clothes but it was clear every time he moved. His hair had, unfortunately, gotten even longer too and there was a hint of a beard growing in.

Sam was thirty six years old and according to the pieces he had let out, he was still a hunter.

Dean couldn't stop smiling at the thought, almost giddy with what it meant.

It meant that they were still together.

It meant that Sam hadn't abandoned him to have his normal apple pie life with another girl.

It meant that they were still a family.

They had already tested him too, John had been the one to test him with the silver knife. The other Sam blinked when they were done, almost obviously biting back some remarks.

But he also didn't say anything when John had asked him about that, just shaking his head and looking away.

"I'm going to make some calls." John said, standing up and grabbing his jacket and his phone. "You two, three, stay here." he instructed. He gave a meaningful look at Dean and then left the room, closing the door behind him tightly.

Sam scoffed once John was gone, shaking his head. "Stay here, like we're kids." he muttered under his breath, crossing his arms over his chest.

Sam, the other Sam and this was going to be confusing, didn't say anything but Dean did see a hint of a smile on his face. He finally brought his head up and Dean felt his heart clench at the look on Sam, older Sam's face.

He looked good, that was obvious and it was something he knew was going to happen. He always knew that Sam would outgrow the puppy doe eyed face but at the same time he never thought that it was going to be this much.

But there was more. There was a weight in Sam's shoulder and back that brought him down, there was no light in his eyes that Dean had gotten used to seeing. He was hunched over as if he was trying to disappear onto himself and he almost seemed to have trouble straightening up completely.

He looked a lot like a worn out hunter, a hunter that had been in the game for too long, and had gotten disillusioned, had seen too much and could no longer see a reason to stay in the life.

He never expected Sam to actually look like...a Sam. He was always going to be Sammy to him, he didn't give a damn about how old he got; Sammy was Sammy.

But looking at the man, it was undeniable that it was a man and not a boy, in front of him, despite the similarities, he was having trouble picking out the pieces that was Sammy.

The older Sam saw that he was looking and straightened up a bit more to look at him a bit better, tilting his head to the side questioningly. Dean didn't say anything, just letting his eyes roam over the older Sam's face and body.

Slowly the older Sam realized what he was doing and seemingly despite himself, he smiled and there...there it was.

The sudden appearance of dimples, the light in his eyes, the way that the weight of whatever he was carrying lifted for a moment and there he was.

There was Sammy.

John came back into the room then, standing in the doorway and looking at the three of them.

"Boys pack up." he told them. "We're going to Bobbys."

**I do not own Supernatural. **

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	2. Chapter 2

It was decided, mainly by John, that the older Sam was going to ride with him in his truck to Bobbys.

He did look at the impala when they stepped outside, smiling fondly at it. When he left the room he had automatically turned to it, even taking a step towards it when he remembered everything.

He glanced at Dean and the younger Sam as they got into the impala instead. The younger Sam ignored the future one but Dean, he looked back to the other Sam, a mess of emotions running over his face as he got into the driver's seat.

Shaking his head he followed after John into the passenger seat of his truck, barely needing to climb into it. John didn't speak as he got them onto the road, Sam glanced at the mirror to see the impala follow after them.

Neither of them broke the silence as they drove, John didn't even turn the radio on. After what seemed like an eternity, when he spoke, his voice was heavy.

"I die in the future, don't I." despite wording it like that, it wasn't a question.

Sam breathed out slowly, staring straight ahead at the road in front of them. "I don't really know what to say." he said tensely. "I don't want to change the future. We've suffered a lot but I'm happy where we ended up. And I don't want to mess that up."

John breathed out slowly. "You already answered." he said. "The way you look at me, it's like you've seen a ghost. Like you want to look but at the same time its too painful."

Sams fingers twitched at that and he pressed them down harder onto his legs where they laid on his lap. "You have no proof." he said.

"I don't need proof, you're my son, I can still read you." John said, half glancing at him before refocusing on the road ahead. "As much as I don't want to believe it, I know that you're Sam."

"What makes you so certain?" Sam asked, trying to keep his tone even.

"Wasn't one hundred percent certain until I came back into the room, saw you looking at Dean." John said. "Deans the only one that's ever been able to calm you down and make you smile like that."

Sam pressed his lips closely together. "It was just...seeing him like that, so young and everything. It made me...it reminded me of this time. How..." he gave a small hollow laugh. "I know it doesn't seem like it but things were a lot simpler and easier now than it is in the future."

"This is simple and easy?" John asked raising an eyebrow. "What kind of hell are you two going through in the future?"

Sam didn't speak for a moment. "I really shouldn't be saying this." he said quietly. "But...things do get worse in the future. That's all I'll say."

"No, that's not all you're going to say. You need to tell me one thing, just one thing." John said, tightening his grip on the steering wheel. "Azazel. Do we kill him?"

Sam didn't speak, swallowing hard as he didn't dare to even move. John moved his jaw from side to side, a familiar impatience with his youngest filled him but he pushed it away as best as he could.

"Yeah." he whispered. "We killed him dad. He's long dead in the future."

John breathed out, a relief escaping him in a way that he hadn't had in a very long time. He didn't dare to do so too much, he was still driving, but he bowed over slightly, a sharp breath coming out. A weight that he had carried for years, ever since he had learned what really had killed Mary, was lifted for just a moment as he reveled in the idea, the knowledge, that the thing that killed his wife, the mother of children, was dead.

"Good." he managed to get out, straightening himself. He nodded once, briskly. "Good."

Neither of them spoke for the remainder of the drive, the both of them lost in their own thoughts.

**I do not own Supernatural. **

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	3. Chapter 3

Bobby had apparently already known about their arrival because when they reached him he had a whole array of tests for Sam to pass.

Sam, older Sam, did everything that was asked of him, and sometimes Dean saw a bit of an amused smile on his face as he obeyed. He let Bobby sprinkle him with holy water, what he called a sacramental oil, and various other things. He recited the chants with Bobby in time and let the man make an array of cuts on his palm, biting into silver and even reciting three different renditions of the Lord's prayer.

Finally Bobby tossed the knife onto the table and slid over a shot of whiskey which Sam gratefully, and easily Dean noted, swallowed down.

"Far as I can tell he's telling the truth, he's human at the least." Bobby said, taking his hat off and running his fingers through his hair before putting it back on. "So that means that Sam traveled back in time to here. Usually those witches have a reason for it."

"We think that she was trying to find a way to obtain perpetual youth." Sam said, brushing the salt off the front of his shirt. "She was probably just trying to find a way to reverse the time on herself but ended up," he shrugged and waved over himself. "Doing this."

Bobby nodded, unable to tear his eyes away from the Sam in front of him, taking in every bit of him. Unlike with Dean this time Sam seemed to almost shy away from Bobby's look, unable to look the other man in the eyes.

It was like looking at two different people. Dean glanced at his Sam, their Sam, and then back at the future Sam. Realistically he knew that it was the same person, he always knew that eventually Sammy was going to grow up and actually be a...Samuel but actually seeing? Seeing his handiwork and all his semi-parenting and bothering as proof right in front of him?

It was a bit nauseating and Dean felt his mouth dry up, glancing a big longingly at the bottle on the table.

"Alright, so let's get straight to the real stuff then." Bobby said, causing Sam, older Sam and he really needed to find a way to properly differentiate him and their Sam, to look up. "How's the future?"

Sam shrugged. "It's alright." he said vaguely. "I don't think I should say anything else about it."

"No but you gotta have a lot to say." Dean said, unable to keep the smile off of his face at the thought. "I mean, you're still hunting in the future, we're still hunting together. What's that like?"

Before the other Sam could say anything his Sam got up suddenly and walked out, a scowl clear on his face as he left the house.

Needless to say Dean knew that he had been too quiet for too long and apparently, he had reached his point. He knew that it was coming, it had just been a matter of time.

The other Sam had watched him leave, taking a deep breath and standing up. "Can't say I'm surprised." he said softly, with a small smile. "I'm...I'm going to go talk to him."

Without waiting for anyone else to say anything else he walked out, following where the Sam of this time had gone.

**I do not own Supernatural. **

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	4. Chapter 4

Sam knew exactly where to find his younger self, a small part of the house that created an almost hole-like area that was hidden from the wind. He spent hours in that place reading, away from everyone else when he needed the space.

He had outgrown it when he was about fifteen but stubbornly refused to accept that for a while, ignoring how it hurt his back.

Walking along the side of the house, Sam walked to the back where the hole was, smiling softly when he saw his younger self curled up inside of it as best as he could. When he moved into his own line of vision the younger Sam glared up at him.

Sighing Sam sat down on the ground instead, shifting in the gravel as it pressed into his skin through his clothes. Just hoping that he wasn't sitting on glass or anything else sharp, he just looked at his younger self, waiting for him to start.

He wasn't going to have to wait long, he remembered how too impatient he was back then.

"Why?" his younger self all but spat at him. "I had a plan. I was going to help stop the demon that killed mom, that killed Jess, and go back. Go back to having a normal life, having a safe life. Why?"

Sam knew that this was coming, knew that his younger self would erupt on him and demand answers, he could be vague to the others, he can't be vague to himself.

"Because there was another job to do," he said. "And after that there was another job, and another, and another, and another."

He let out a deep breath. "Because at the end of the day, there is no normal. There is no safe life, only not as dangerous and even then, it's a whole lot more dangerous than you want."

"It's because Dean needs you," he said, watching the emotion rush over his younger self's face. "And quite frankly? That's worth giving up all the normality there is."

"You avenge Jessica, and no, it doesn't get any easier." Sam told him. "I think about her all the time, I remember her all the time. I still miss her every day. The guilt doesn't leave, but it gets a bit easier to bear."

Sam took a deep breath, leaning back on his palms and staring up at the sky. "But at the end of the day, it's worth it. Because of the people that you save. Because of the monsters that'll never be able to hurt another person again. Because at the end of the day, you have Dean and he has you."

Sam moved his jaw from side to side, despite having already thought about saying everything, he still tried to find the right words to say. He couldn't tell too much, couldn't give too much of an insight into the future, so he treaded lightly.

"I've had the options sometimes," he said. "To leave the hunting life, get a normal life. Maybe even go back to school. But I didn't, I didn't want that anymore. Because Deans are not going to be a part of it, because I've made peace with my life and my role in everything."

"I'm not saying that it's going to be easy, I'm not saying that it's going to be good, I'm not even saying that you're going to be able to prepare for it because nothing is going to prepare you for the life you're going to lead." Sam told him. "But I am saying that it's worth it and I am saying that I am happy with my life."

Sam smiled at the disbelieving look on his younger selves face, heart clenching slightly for a moment as he remembered being that age. Maybe it was his time in the cage that warped his sense of time perception but it feels so much longer ago than it actually was.

"It's taken me some time, but I can say this with certainty." Sam told himself firmly. "It's worth it all."

**I do not own Supernatural. **

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